Where family matters.

Attorney Profiles

Joseph R. Gutheinz, Jr.

Joe Gutheinz is licensed to practice law in ten courts, including the Texas
Supreme Court; the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th, 10th and
11th Circuits; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; and
the United States Supreme Court. He is a former Commissioner on the Texas
Commission on Fire Protection, a Former Commissioned Member of the Texas
State Council on Sex Offender Treatment and a Former Commissioned Member
on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Advisory Committee on Offenders
with Medical and Mental Impairments. As a college instructor, he has taught
over 200 graduate and undergraduate Criminal Justice, Risk Management
and Paralegal classes for three colleges. He is a former Adjunct Professor
at Thurgood Marshall School of Law, where he taught Mediation.

Awards & Nominations

He has served as a consultant on aviation and space related cases. He is
a retired Senior Special Agent with NASA’s Office of Inspector General
and a former Special Agent with both the U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Inspector General and F.A.A. Civil Aviation Security. He is
a former Army Intelligence Officer and Aviator. For his service, he has
received the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency Career
Achievement Award, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the NASA Superior
Accomplishment Award, the U.S. Army Meritorious Service Medal and a Special
Commendation from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern
District of Texas. He is an Honorary Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma and
an Honorary Harris County Deputy Sheriff. He is a past top graduate of
the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s Criminal Investigator’s
Course, holds six college degrees and eight teaching credentials, and
is a Certified Fraud Examiner. He has been featured in several documentaries
on one of his cases; was the subject of a novel by Joe Kloc; has appeared
on the BBC, Fox, the Oprah Winfrey Network and the History Channel and
has been quoted in news stories all over the world. He has written numerous
magazine stories and Op/Ed’s, on topics as diverse as space exploration,
aviation security and the grand jury system.

2014 Update:

In 2014, Joseph R. Gutheinz was selected by the National Trial Lawyers
for its "Top 100 Trial Lawyers"; The Houstonia Magazine listed
him as one of the "Top Lawyers of 2014"; he appeared on Brad
Meltzer's Lost History Show, on the History Channel 2; he appeared
in Troy Hale's documentary "Missing Moon Rocks" and he was
written about or quoted in the following books: "Apollo 11: 164 Most
Asked Questions" by Craig Cooley"; "The Jake Gyllenhaal
Handbook" ; "Who Traveled to the Moon", by Neil Morris;
"Indian News Media: From Observer to Participant"; by Usha M.
Rodrigues and Maya Ranganathan; and "Attorney at Law: 47 Most Asked
Questions", by Bryan Figeroa.

2016 Update:

In 2016 Joe Gutheinz appeared as himself on eleven episodes of NASA’s
Unexplained Files on the Science Channel, where a few of his NASA cases
were featured, to include his investigations of the Russian Mir Space
Station fire and collision; his undercover sting operation to recover
the Honduras Goodwill Moon Rock (Operation Lunar Eclipse) and his investigation
of a NASA Astronaut and CIA Impersonator. Gutheinz continued to film the
full length movie, Operation Lunar Eclipse, where he is featured as an
actor in a movie about an investigation he conducted almost two decades
earlier. He was again given a perfect AVVO rating; listed as a Top Lawyer
by Houtonia Magazine and as a Top 100 Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers
Association. He also provided expert assistance on a high profile case
involving NASA.

2017 Update:

On June 19, 2017 Joe Gutheinz was a guest speaker at the 28th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference in Nashville Tennessee. At the conference
Joe spoke about his Omniplan Task Force Investigation which he led as
a Senior Special Agent with NASA OIG. Former FBI Director Louis Freeh
called this investigation the most significant in NASA history and it
resulted in a 179 felony count conviction against the Omniplan CEO; the
closure of seven companies, five after being convicted of felonies, and
successful spin off investigations against fortune 500 companies. Joe
also spoke about his drug investigation of employees at the Kennedy Space
Center’s Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF); his investigation of
the Russian Mir Space Station fire and collision; his investigation of
missing Prelaunch Assessment Review (PAR) tapes at Johnson Space Center’s
Building 9NW; his investigation of the Russian Space Program; his investigation
of the Arkansas Aerospace Education Center; his undercover sting operation,
Operation Lunar Eclipse, that recovered the Honduras Goodwill Moon Rock
and his investigation of an infamous astronaut and CIA impersonator who
secured entry to NASA’s Mission Control.

Michael J. Gutheinz

Michael Gutheinz was recognized by The National Trial Lawyer’s: Top
40 Under 40 in 2016.

Michael Gutheinz graduated from the University of St. Thomas, Magna Cum
Laude, with a B.A. in Political Science. He graduated from South Texas
College of Law, Cum Laude, with a Doctorate in Jurisprudence. After law
school, Mike served as a Congressional Aide for Congress Member Dr. Shelley
Sekula-Gibbs. In February 2007, Mike joined the U.S. Army and served as
an attorney with the Judge Advocate General Corps. While in the Army,
he practiced in the following areas: family law, adoption, consumer protection,
claims against the U.S. Government, and criminal law. In 2009, Mike deployed
to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. While in Afghanistan,
Mike was a part-time military magistrate issuing search authorizations.
Mike is a former prosecutor with the U.S. Army and Special Assistant U.S.
Attorney. Mike practices both Criminal and Family Law.

James O'Leary Gutheinz

James Gutheinz was recognized by The National Trial Lawyer’s: Top
40 Under 40 in 2016.

James O’Leary Gutheinz graduated from the University of St. Thomas,
Magna Cum Laude, with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Theology.
He was Commissioned an Officer in the United States Army Reserve and graduated
from Adjutant Officer Basic Course in 2005. James Gutheinz was mobilized
as an active duty officer in the Army for five years and simultaneously
completed law school at South Texas College of Law in December of 2010.
While at South Texas College of Law, James interned at a certified domestic
violence clinic-Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA)-where he participated
in complex family law cases by assisting victims in need of legal services.
He also interned for the Prosecutor's Office of Pearland, Texas, where
he gained vast knowledge in municipal cases dealing with violations of
the transportation code and various other misdemeanors. James focus is
primarily on Family Law.

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